List of Companies Violating BBB Trademarks
Below are companies that are falsely conveying an affiliation
with or sponsorship by the Better Business Bureau through unauthorized
use of BBB trademarks. These businesses have
ignored numerous requests to modify their advertising or web site
by eliminating use of BBB trademarks.
For more specific information about each company, including any existing
BBB complaints, please contact the BBB specified below.
Company name: The
Infinity Group
Location: Fairport Harbor, Ohio
URL: Web site now inaccessible. Problem currently exists in
newspapers and nationwide mass mailings.
Problem: This company falsely states in its advertising materials
that it is a BBB member "in
good standing" or a business with an excellent BBB
record, and it had made similar claims in its web advertising. Infinity
Group is not a BBB member and in fact has an unsatisfactory record with
the BBB. Several states, including Missouri and New Hampshire have issued
cease and desist orders against Infinity Group for violations of securities
laws.
Contact: Cleveland, Ohio
BBB
Company name: New
Orleans Better Business Guide
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
URL: Not Applicable.
Problem: Business Directory, owned and operated by John Cerniglia,
uses a trade name that is confusingly similar to registered service
marks owned by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. Although
the Council has requested this company change its name, it has refused
to comply. Consumers should be aware that this publication is in no
way affiliated with or sponsored by the New Orleans Better Business
Bureau.
Contact: New Orleans,
Louisiana BBB
Company name: Destiny
Telecomm International Inc.
Location: Oakland, CA
URL: http://rouge.net/users/firminkj/www/
Problem: Destiny operates through independent representatives.
The Council has written to every independent representative of which
it is aware who has misused or infringed on the Council's trademarks
in web advertising. All but two have complied with our requests to delete
reference to the Better Business Bureau. The remaining two, however,
continue to falsely claim that Destiny is a member of the Better Business
Bureau or that it has a favorable record with the BBB. In fact,
Destiny was expelled from membership in the Oakland BBB for a pattern
of unresolved complaints and government action.
Contact: Oakland, California
BBB
Company name: Global
Marketing Group
Location: Phoenix, AZ and the Cayman Islands
URL: various
Problem: This company markets offshore credit cards over the
Internet through independent representatives, many of whom are falsely
claiming affiliation with the BBB. In August 1997, Arizona law enforcement
arrested the GMG president on charges including fraud and operating
an illegal enterprise. The case is pending. Meanwhile, independent
representatives of GMG still have operational web sites.
Contact: Phoenix, Arizona
BBB
Company name: National
Business Bureau
DBAs: Liberty Financial Group, NBB Marketing and United Resources
Corporation
Location: Scottsdale, AZ and Santa Barbara, CA
URL: Not Applicable
Problem: It has been reported that the National Business Bureau
provides favorable information about companies in which the owner has
an interest, including Liberty Financial Group, NBB Marketing and United
Resources Corporation. It appears that these businesses purport to offer
"property registration services" related to government-seized properties
and lists of automobile auctions. Although the Council has requested
the National Business Bureau change its name because it is confusingly
similar to the Council's registered service marks, it has refused to
comply. Consumers should be aware that neither this business, nor any
of those it provides favorable information about, are in any way affiliated
with or sponsored by the Better Business Bureau.
Contact: Phoenix, Arizona
BBB and Santa Barbara
BBB
Company name: Be
a Millionaire in Thirty Days: Michael Payne
Location: North Carolina
URL: Not Applicable. Business Opportunity promoted in small
ad in papers such as the National Enquirer. Those who respond
receive a one-page flyer bearing a phony BBB CARE logo.
Problem: Run by Michael Payne, this business opportunity promises
to make participants millionaires in thirty days. Mr. Payne's advertisements
display a phony BBB CARE logo that states "A
Customer Assistance Program of the BBB of Wisesnain, Inc."
Mr. Payne is neither a participant of BBB CARE, nor a member of any
Better Business Bureau. Furthermore, the "BBB
of Wisesnain, Inc." does
not exist. Both the North Carolina Attorney General's office and
federal postal authorities are investigating this business opportunity.
Contact: Raleigh,
North Carolina BBB
Company name: Top
Secrets, formerly known as Fortune 5000
Location: Junction City, Kansas
URLs: www.fun4you.com/for5k.asp; www.myfreeoffice.com/mlmopps/fortune.htm
Problem: Top Secrets, a business opportunity corporation, operates
through independent representatives. On the web sites noted above and
perhaps others, Top Secrets' representatives either falsely state that
their parent company is a member of the Better Business Bureau or make
impermissible references to the Better Business Bureau name in their
web advertising, such as "registered" or "listed in good standing" with
the Better Business Bureau. The Council contacted Thomas Michaels, the
CEO of Top Secrets, to alert him of this infringement on our trademark.
He agreed to ask all his representatives to eliminate all references
to the Better Business Bureau from all Fortune 5000 or Top Secrets'
web sites and other advertising; however, compliance has been irregular.
No independent representative of Top Secrets is authorized to use the
Better Business Bureau trademark in their advertising.
Contact: Topeka, Kansas
BBB
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